Read, watch, and listen responsibly

Reaction and inspired by the article of Paul Murray.

The people in the media strongly influence us in life. May it be written, said and shown from paper to internet to radio to tv, we cannot deny how it has endlessly tested our beliefs and our morals.

The sad truth about people earning from our sorrows and shame is not new. It is a brutal reality we accept and even guilty of at times. A person’s crucial fault or embarrassment is entertainment for us. But when it is us who get to the hot seat, we conceal our darkest shades at most we can.

There is a difference though when the media professional take responsibility in being sensitive to his/her work. When there is a balance in respect between the featured person and the watching or listening or reading public. Humiliation should never be an option. You must, as a public relations worker, know what is right and wrong, what is hurtful and what is not. It should also not be done for reputation, but for personal dignity.

Paul was right in writing as a protest on how two adults publicly handled the case of the young teen. It would have been water under the bridge if the talk show were not hitting high ratings. When it is something that makes the majority listen, then rules should truly be followed and not the money. It is not a change-the-station solution because as he said the program goes on.

It would be utterly frustrating if the public continued to patronize the program simply because it was hot news. If that happens, then Paul was right, we truly have lost our moral compass. Just when media people can be strictly scrutinized by the people who value the dignity of man especially the young.

This also serves as a lesson for us at the receiving end. These are the giants who earn from our attention so we have the power to show them what is acceptable to us and what is not, that we will not allow such wrong-doings to happen. We already know that not all that we see, hear, or read our correct.

Let us be responsible on what media injects in us.